Frequently asked questions.

Q: Are there any hidden fees or costs in your basic 44¢ letter offer?
A: No. You pay 44¢ per unit, with no other fees of any kind, for the printing & mailing of your letters, (except state tax on the non-postage portion for customers in Tennessee.) 
Please note that the mailing list is NOT included in the 44¢ price, and must either be supplied by you, the client, or purchased at additional expense through us or another vendor of your choosing.

Q: What is your minimum order? 
A: There is a 250-unit minimum on all regular Standard Class mailings.  If you want to upgrade to First Class postage, there is a 500-unit minimum.

Q: Do you guarantee a specific Return on Investment? 
A: No, we do not guarantee any specific response to your mailing, stated or implied, for many reasons.  Click the forward arrow on the "ROI" audio message below to hear our explanation. 

Q: Can I stagger my mailing over multiple dates?
A: Yes.  As long as each mailing wave contains 250 letters or more Standard Class or 500 letters First Class, we can mail over multiple dates at no additional charge. 

Q: Can you print multiple agent signatures or contact information?
A: Yes.  Simply provide us with the individual signatures and contact information, and we will print the appropriate information as a cell version.  By cell, we mean a unique group of letters segmented in a logical way, i.e. by Zip Code, by County, by letter version, etc. 

Q: Do you charge for copy revisions?
A: We will create a draft version of your letter at no charge. The first two revision sets to your letter are free.  After that, revisions are $80 per hour, with a $20 minimum rework fee.

Q: If I supply the mailing list, is there an extra charge?
A: All supplied mailing lists must be provided in electronic format, i.e. Excel, Access, .dbf., .csv, etc.  There is no processing fee when you supply a single, clean and ready-to-mail electronic file.  If you supply multiple files and / or multiple formats of files, or your supplied file needs extensive repair, de-duping or clean-up, a fee of $80 per hour will be charged, with a $20 minimum programming fee.  We will provide an estimate in advance for your review. We do not accept hard copy files or faxes for use as a mailing list; all data must be supplied in electronic format.

Q: Can I use variable calculations in my letter?
A: Yes.  We will run the calculations for you and include them in your letter at no extra charge.  Typically, we use the customer's current loan amount to calculate their payments at the new rate, and we show their savings on a monthly & annual basis.  These amounts change for each and every customer.  We often use charts in our letters, and the payment & savings amounts change throughout the chart for each customer.  Again, there is no extra cost to do this.

Q: Can you assure me that all of the consumers on a 'subprime' list will have poor credit and/or a high-rate loan?
A: No. Unless you choose to make a pre-approved offer of credit, by law we cannot access the credit bureau files. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Privacy Act of 1999 made sweeping changes to the way financial service marketers can access consumer data.  In the "old days", marketers could pull FICO scores, credit history, etc., at will. Now, in order to access live credit records, you must make a firm offer of credit - and few loan brokers are comfortable making this type of commitment. 

When we look for 'subprime' loan prospects, we pull names of consumer who currently have a loan with a lender that makes 90% or more of their loans in the subprime category.  But the truth is that any lender can make any type of loan. So if a person with good credit applies for a loan at Homecomings, they can get an "A" paper loan there. The same applies with Household, American General, Decision One, etc. Without pulling a person's credit file, the only way we can get in the ballpark of knowing they are subprime is the fact that they have a loan with a lender that typically makes subprime loans. But that's not a rock solid indicator of credit problems. Plus, some people may have had credit problems when they first took out their loan, but as their credit improved, their current lender refi'd them into a more attractive loan to keep their business - this is also a typical retention practice by lenders.  So in summary, the only way you get definite poor credit is to use a credit bureau file, and a pre-approved offer. If you want the majority of the prospects you target to have poor credit, we can select by subprime lender name.

Q: Can I review the mailing list prior to your actually sending the letters out?
A: Yes.  Just request this service when placing your order.  Once your letters are printed, they cannot be changed, so it's important that you state this request right up front.

Q: Can you print my logo on my letters?
A: Yes. Your logo can be printed anywhere on the letter, at no extra charge, in black ink only.  For color logos (if needed), see '52¢ Color Mailers' at right. 

Q: Can I pay by credit card?
A: Yes.  You may pay by credit card, check, check-by-fax, or bank wire.  There is no surcharge with any payment method, and all mailings must be paid in full at least 3 business days prior to the mail date.  We accept VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and all debit cards. 

Q: Do you guarantee the performance of my mailing?
A: No.  There are no guarantees that you will get any specific number of calls or percent response to your mailing.  No guarantees are offered, implied or honored.  There are simply too many variables that affect response for us to take sole responsibility for them.  These include list, offer, creative, rate, market conditions, USPS delivery times, selling skills of your agents, etc.  We will always give you our best effort and best opinion as to what will sell in your market.  Plus, we will work with you to get the best response possible.  However, the ultimate results you enjoy will vary by so many factors, we cannot provide any guarantee that any particular mailing will perform well for you.  

Q: Why don't you offer a money-back guarantee that I will close loans off my mailing?
A: When you run a print ad in your local newspaper, how many loans do they guarantee that you will close?  Do they guarantee more loans if you run a bigger ad?  The answer is the same in every city in America: no.  They don't guarantee that you will generate ANY loans at all, because there are simply too many conditions to take into consideration: competition, seasonality, rates, the economy, etc.  Do you guarantee that your customers will get the lowest possible rate if they refinance with you?  Do you offer them a money-back guarantee if rates drop after they close?  No - because these factors are out of your control.  And while we try our best to present your offer in the best possible light, the ultimate decision to respond or not respond to your offer is in the hands of the people in your area - and their actions are out of our control. 

It is important to note that marketing is a PROCESS, not a DESTINATION.  A winning program will not always achieve the same results; similarly, a program that does not work in one market may achieve great results in another.  The answer: test, test, and test - with refinements along the way. 

Q: How long does it take for you to produce my mailing?
A: MortgageDM will create and mail your letters within 5 business days of your signoff AND a minimum of 3 days after receipt of your funds.  All mailings are sent Standard Class (Bulk) through the United States Postal Service.  We process your letters as Automation Rate Pre-Sort Barcoded Mail, which is the optimal processing standard for fastest delivery.  However, the actual number of days your mailing will be in transit through the USPS can vary from 1 day to 3 weeks.  

The range of days until delivery will vary by season, USPS system volume and many other factors outside of our control.  We have experienced excellent delivery times using Standard Class mail.  However, if you require immediate response and deliverability, we will be glad to process your letters at the First Class Presort Rate for an up charge of 11¢ per letter, (on mailings of 500 units or more.) The USPS standards call for 3-day delivery of all First Class letters. 

Q: Are your rates negotiable? 
A: We believe that our 44¢ black & white mailers and our 52¢ color mailers - both with POSTAGE INCLUDED - are the most economical direct mail programs in the industry.  However, if you can provide us with a verifiable quotation from a legitimate mailing house for less, we will be glad to match it.  Bear in mind, however, that USPS postage rates are flat; the post office does not provide us with volume discounts, so we cannot discount the postage rates to you. 

Q: Do you offer discounts for referring other customers? 
A: No.  Because our rates are already among the lowest in the mortgage industry, we cannot offer additional price reductions.  However, we are currently establishing a referral program that will provide you with merchandise, gift & travel rewards based on the dollar volume purchases made by companies that you refer to us.

Q: Can I get a copy of my mailing list? 
A: Yes.  We will be glad to email you a copy of your mailing database at no extra charge.  This can be sent in Excel, Text, Access, FoxPro - or any standard format you require.  Please note that all names are sold for one-time usage only; additional usage may result in additional charges from the list originator.  Call for custom production & shipping charges on pressure-sensitive labels or hard-copy printouts. 

Q: Can you provide references? 
A: Yes.  Please call us for a list of our many mortgage company clients, or email us by clicking HERE.